Does this theory work in the DR??

dr_qt · Sep 28, 2007

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who lives in the DR about making money.

I told him that if he really wants to be financially successful it is possible, no matter what circumstances he comes from. I told him that anyone can be successful if they work smart, work hard, and are persistant.

That is the theory I was raised with.

My friend said that in the DR things are different, opportunities are very very limited, especially if you are poor. He also said that because of the 'system' it is almost impossible for poor people to overcome thier position in life.

So I have 2 questions here: first, are my friends views correct? And secondly do any you have any stories to share of poor Dominicans who have overcome the odds, and become successful through thier own hard work?

AZB · Sep 28, 2007

there are a few hard working poor dominicans who have made it big in this country but over-all, its very difficult to make money here, much harder for a poor person who is starting from zero.
AZB

Ken · Sep 28, 2007

The number of stories will depend on what you mean by "successful".

But your friend is right it is more difficult here than it may be where you are. It is more difficult for everyone. All those bright young people graduating with degrees in law, medicine, etc., etc., find it very difficult to find jobs in their field, and when they do the pay is far below what they could expect if born, raised and educated where you live.

Poor children here do not have the educational opportunities they do where you live. Perhaps they may not go to school at all.

I could go on, but I understand what your friend is saying. AZB is speaking for me on this

dr_qt · Sep 28, 2007

Ken said:
The number of stories will depend on what you mean by "successful".

I guess each person's idea of what financial success is subjective. So I wonder, in each posters subjective opinion, have they seen some successful stories.

In NA we have role models like, Oprah Winfrey, who came from destitute beginnings and overcame them.

jackieboo · Sep 28, 2007

I guess 'success' depends on the individual?s goals and dreams. For my caretaker here at my house he and his wife have been living and taking care of the house now for about 17 years. When I bought the house a year and a half ago the previous owner bought the couple a piece of land and gave them sufficient money to build a house. For these two lovely and hard working people this is 'success'.

The simplest things that one takes for granted in the developed world are not taken lightly here and hence small advances are seen in their eyes as giant leaps forward.

sjh · Sep 28, 2007

I respectfully disagree. I know of many here who started with next to nothing. Through patience, hard work, wise investment, and conservative living now buy new cars every two years, and live in a nice house.

One of my favorite examples is a man who started selling burgers from his house. Because he kept prices low and quality high, he now has the most sucessful resteraunt in town. Other would include the guy who started selling candy from a cart until he bought a house, or the ferretarria owner who started out with nothing and is now worth millions. I cant even count the number of young men around here who through diligence and reinvestement have made fortunes raiseing cattle on rented land on borrowed capital or other investement arrangements. The list goes on and on.

In every one of these cases the people involved took a calculated risk and then reinvested.

Most of the failures i see are related to people starting the wrong business at the wrong time in the wrong location. Other failures have to do with poor planning to handle unexpected emergencies or a failure to reinvest profits.

Almost nobody suceeds here working as an employee. Many get by but without starting a personal business I see very very few sucess stories. Those who do are almost always at an upper management level.

Janin · Sep 28, 2007

The Dream

dr_qt said:
... do any you have any stories to share of poor Dominicans who have overcome the odds, and become successful through thier own hard work?

If you accept playing baseball as hard work, you'll find a lot success stories...

Janin

dr_qt · Sep 28, 2007

There is a quote I remember" Do what you love and the money will follow".

Thanks for the replies ken, SJH, AZB,J anin and Shadley.

If say perhaps a person sells shells, can he/she (through perseverance become the best shell seller in the area).
If this person looks at the market, what other shell sellers sell for, what tourists want, and becomes indispesible to his company, isn't it possible for he/she to become successful?
This is the advice I gave to my friend. That's my take on life why can't it work in the DR?

dr_qt · Sep 28, 2007

sjh said:
I respectfully disagree. I know of many here who started with next to nothing. Through patience, hard work, wise investment, and conservative living now buy new cars every two years, and live in a nice house.

One of my favorite examples is a man who started selling burgers from his house. Because he kept prices low and quality high, he now has the most sucessful resteraunt in town. Other would include the guy who started selling candy from a cart until he bought a house, or the ferretarria owner who started out with nothing and is now worth millions. I cant even count the number of young men around here who through diligence and reinvestement have made fortunes raiseing cattle on rented land on borrowed capital or other investement arrangements. The list goes on and on.

In every one of these cases the people involved took a calculated risk and then reinvested.

Most of the failures i see are related to people starting the wrong business at the wrong time in the wrong location. Other failures have to do with poor planning to handle unexpected emergencies or a failure to reinvest profits.

Almost nobody suceeds here working as an employee. Many get by but without starting a personal business I see very very few sucess stories. Those who do are almost always at an upper management level.

Very interesting!

the road to success may be difficult, but is possible.

Janin · Sep 28, 2007

Shells Anybody?

dr_qt said:
There is a quote I remember" Do what you love and the money will follow".

That's good.
Sounds almost like a sankie's motto. :cheeky:
(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

dr_qt said:
If say perhaps a person sells shells, can he/she (through perseverance become the best shell seller in the area)?

Sure, why not.
But it may still be illegal... :ermm:

dr_qt said:
...If this person looks at the market, what other shell sellers sell for, what tourists want, and becomes indispesible to his company, i....

You mean for Shell Sales, S.A. ...... :bunny: :cheeky:

Janin

sjh · Sep 28, 2007

Another success story. A man I met in 1990 as a simple fisherman. He lived in a house made of sticks 1 inch thick nailed to a simple frame on the beach. This is not the typical dominican wood house with palm wood siding. My pigs sleep in a nicer house.

He started buying up individual pink conch pearls from his buddies and selling them by lot to buyers. When we visited him a few years later he was still in the same house, but he pulled out a bag with about 50,000 dollars in pearls in in it. Now he is just finishing off building his personal palace and drives a high end jeepeta.

I am not trying to say it is easy to be successful here, but there are many people here who are rich and didnt inherit it. Some started from very lowly backgrounds and others came from families of power and influnce.

Janin · Sep 28, 2007

Dominican Careers

sjh said:
Another success story. A man I met in 1990 as a simple ...

Take Hip?lito Mejia....

Janin

sjh · Sep 28, 2007

Achieving success in politics is no small feat here. These guys often spend 15 years or more working for the party before getting a good position.

Texas Bill · Sep 28, 2007

A lo will have to do with the type of business your friend selects.
If he selects one of those that is occupied by theelite, he'll go broke or get badly mangled. They don't like competition at all.
If he selects a business non-competitive with theelite, and follows your philosophy, he should do fairly well over thenext 20-30 years. He may not get real rich, but he'll have the satisfaction of being his own boss.
And those who advised against working for someone else, well they're right. That's a dead end here as it is elsewhere.

Texas Bill

A.Hidalgo · Sep 28, 2007

I have a cousin who was born in the countryside or campo in Bonao. Well that poor boy today is a Dermatologist who also has his own pharmacy in Santo Domingo. Hard work and determination got him there albeit the road being long and bumpy...but he made it. Very proud of him.

dr_qt · Sep 29, 2007

sjh said:
Another success story. A man I met in 1990 as a simple fisherman. He lived in a house made of sticks 1 inch thick nailed to a simple frame on the beach. This is not the typical dominican wood house with palm wood siding. My pigs sleep in a nicer house.

He started buying up individual pink conch pearls from his buddies and selling them by lot to buyers. When we visited him a few years later he was still in the same house, but he pulled out a bag with about 50,000 dollars in pearls in in it. Now he is just finishing off building his personal palace and drives a high end jeepeta.

I am not trying to say it is easy to be successful here, but there are many people here who are rich and didnt inherit it. Some started from very lowly backgrounds and others came from families of power and influnce.

A simple yet inspirational story!

dr_qt · Sep 29, 2007

Texas Bill said:
A lot will have to do with the type of business your friend selects.
If he selects one of those that is occupied by theelite, he'll go broke or get badly mangled. They don't like competition at all.
If he selects a business non-competitive with theelite, and follows your philosophy, he should do fairly well over thenext 20-30 years. He may not get real rich, but he'll have the satisfaction of being his own boss.
And those who advised against working for someone else, well they're right. That's a dead end here as it is elsewhere.

Texas Bill

Now I see why alot of people in the DR are religious lottery players. It seems that they have better odds of 'making it' through the lotto than hard work and perserverance.:ermm:

Squat · Sep 29, 2007

In general, people will get into politics to get rich... They tend to drive a jeepeta as soon as they get lucky with the results of an election...

Another form of making quick money is to be a fiscal, or a chief of police, and being on the narco's payroll...

In general, I would suggest to any "old timers" Gringos here to try to remember the lifestyle, 10 years ago, of those Dominicans today driving jeepetas, sporting a shiny gun, and living in a 2 story cement house painted like a birthday cake... How did they make that money ?

planner · Sep 29, 2007

There are many success stories here! In my experience these are the people who don't flaunt things, they keep their head down and continue to work hard!

Martin Espinal - Isaira Tours - Dominican Republic - started with one taxi that he rented from someone else. NOw thruough hard work, working smart and a bit of luck he has built a nice tour operator business. On top of that over the last several years he has built a 12 unit apartment complex in Sosua that he rents out! He is still a very hard working very humble man!

Another man I know, started as a taxi driver as well. He is now one of the largest builder/ developers in Puerto Plata. HE also is still very very hard working but not quite as humble.

To many Dominicans, life is all hard work. Unfortunately they don't learn how to be an entrepreneur or have access to those who can teach them. So, they struggle. BUT there are many success stories. There are many opportunities.

Lottery - only one comment - take a look at North America and the success of all lottery games. It is a tax on the poor that gives false HOPE to millions!!! Yes there are many players here in this country and most are poor people looking for a way out.

bob saunders · Sep 29, 2007

I consider my wife is a very sucessful Dominican. Her mother was a cook for the Mirabel family in Jarabacoa(uncle of Hermanas Mirabel) but she decided at an early age that she was going to be sucessful( to her that means, money in the bank, working for herself, having her money making money...etc). She now has a private school, a number of pieces of land in Jarabacoa, several houses, and plans to build another larger more modern school. Many of the children she grew up with have become very sucessful business people...etc. In general there is an attitude everywhere not just in the DR, that the world owes you a living and that if someone else is sucessful, its because they were lucky or dishonest. This can be true but in most cases our impatience and lack of fortitude prevent us from becoming sucessful. While it is certainly harder in the DR than in many countries, it is also easier in the DR than many countries, so those that "cry you a river" that its impossible are limited by the imagination and willingness to sacrifice. Just think, instead of buying that jeepta and fancy house you could use that money to buy a larger piece of land, build rentals, or several house...etc.

Does this theory work in the DR??

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